RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The NFL's obligatory annual roster purge is complete. But anyone participating in the league-wide reduction in workforce should know better than to refer to the recent flurry of moves as final.
Though all 32 teams had to set their initial 53-man rosters for the upcoming campaign, the action hardly comes to a standstill after Sunday's cutdown deadline. Waiver claims will force further reshuffling for several franchises, and practice squads will also soon be formed.
But even though some teams might reverse course on several previous commitments, the weekend still revealed plenty about where several franchises and young players are headed,
With that being said, here are the biggest winners and losers of the NFL's roster cuts ahead of the 2026 season:
Winners
Los Angeles Rams
Cutdown day typically holds diminished relevance for the veteran-laden Rams. Not so this year, though. The need to establish an initial 53-man configuration proved to be the deadline necessary to spur Aaron Donald's long-expected leap back after two years spent retired. Sean McVay is tempering expectations on the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year's workload, suggesting the defensive tackle will be eased in as Los Angeles prepares to open its season in Australia. Still, even in spot work and without reaching his previous peak levels of performance, Donald might still be a game-wrecker alongside Myles Garrett and a defense that now has an argument to be considered the league's most feared unit . Hard to think of a more consequential transaction over the weekend than this.
Quinn Ewers
Months after finishing out the season as the Miami Dolphins ' starting quarterback in place of Tua Tagovailoa, Ewers saw a new regime swoop in and relegate him to a participant in a backup quarterback battle with Cam Miller and Mark Gronowski. With no clear place in the franchise's expansive reset, the Texas product was dealt early Saturday to the Jacksonville Jaguars , who cut veteran Nick Mullens and installed Ewers as the No. 2. Getting to work under Liam Coen with a clear buy-in from a playoff contender seems like a sizable victory for a player who otherwise figured to get lost in the shuffle for the Dolphins.
Jalon Daniels
Most undrafted rookie quarterbacks spend their summer auditions at the pro level scraping for a practice squad berth. Daniels managed to snag the job backing up Baker Mayfield. The six-year starter for Kansas was scintillating in college but battled injuries and inconsistency throughout his career. His playmaking skills seemed as though they might not translate to the pros, but Daniels showed sufficient command to earn the second-string gig over a proven product in Jake Browning, who was released Sunday. Regardless of where things go from here for Tampa Bay and him, Daniels again demonstrated just how far his resolve can take him.
Undrafted free agents
Though dozens of players every year cling to a roster as rookies despite not having heard their names called in the draft, their success stories are still worth celebrating. At a time when several players were seeking escape hatches back to college via court rulings, let's applaud some of the figures who stuck it out as pros and earned their spot.
Joe Fagnano wasn't even the Baltimore Ravens' most celebrated undrafted free agent quarterback signing, but the UConn passer had more staying power than Heisman Trophy runner-up Diego Pavia and now will serve as the team's No. 3 option. Jack Strand also defied the odds by sticking with the Atlanta Falcons after perhaps faring better than any of the team's other quarterbacks throughout the summer. Despite the Rams' shortage of roster openings, outside linebacker Wesley Bailey broke through with a strong impression in preseason and training camp. And Green Bay Packers wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant, who's poised to make it 22 consecutive years that the organization has had an undrafted free agent make the Week 1 roster, had a touching encapsulation of what the experience meant to him.
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Dolphins' youth movement
First-year coach Jeff Hafley seemed to set the table for another round of veteran departures when he said last week that the success of the upcoming season would be measured not merely by wins but by a larger sense of organizational progress. On the weekend, Miami followed through by parting with the likes of experienced contributors such as linebacker Tyrel Dodson, safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. and cornerback Marco Wilson, among others. Now, the Dolphins will have to ride out the inevitable rough patches that come with rolling with a defense that's so heavily dependent on first- and second-year starters.
Odell Beckham Jr.
There wasn't much drama about his inclusion in the New York Giants' receiving corps. Still, this reunion wasn't a full go from the outset of his signing, with the team making clear it was running an exhaustive search to bolster its outlook at the position. Opportunities likely will be scarce in what figures to be a run-heavy attack that will likely prioritize rookie Malachi Fields, Darnell Mooney and Darius Slayton behind go-to target Malik Nabers. But if Beckham can break free the way he did on a missed deep connection with Jameis Winston in the preseason finale, the three-time Pro Bowl selection can overwrite his acrimonious exit seven years ago by fostering some fond memories.
J.J. McCarthy
He avoided the indignity of being released outright by the Minnesota Vikings , which would have steepened an already precipitous fall from grace. That might seem like cold comfort for a quarterback whose standing is still uncertain after he rapidly transformed from future of the franchise to not even the clear No. 2. Still, for as dicey as things might be for McCarthy, he still at least carries enough value that the Vikings wouldn't merely walk away from him empty-handed – ...
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